BrightArrow Messages from Finch

November 7, 2018

Hello Finch Families! This is Mrs. Conley with several announcements about things happening in the next couple of days. First is the flu vaccination clinic tomorrow from 9 AM to 12 PM. The permission slips are available in the front office if you still need to sign up. A reminder that Friday is an early release day with a 1:45 dismissal. Also on Friday, Finch will be honoring our veterans with an all school assembly at 9:15. Veterans and families are welcome to attend. In addition, there is no school on Monday in recognition of Veteran’s Day. Finally is a reminder that next Friday is our Turkey Bingo! We are still accepting gift basket items and are needing many hands to make the evening another big success. Please look for the flyer and volunteer email for more information.

October 24, 2018

Hello Finch Families! This is Mr. O’Doherty with a couple of announcements. I hope to see many of you tonight at our Finch Math Night starting at 5:30. This is an open house style evening that will give you a chance to leisurely visit classrooms and check out the new math curriculum, pick up a math game to take home, and then top it off with a scratch cooked pizza dinner from Miss Theresa in the cafeteria. It is okay to come a little late as classrooms will be open until 6:15 and dinner served until 6:30. Second is a reminder about this Friday being an early release day with a 1:45 dismissal AND a Hat’s On day where you can bring in a 50 cent donation for the privilege to wear your hat all day long. And finally, congratulations to Coach Farley and the Finch Mustangs in cross country who finished their season yesterday at the All City meet. We are proud of all of you and your hard work representing Finch in such a great way.

October 7, 2018

Hello Finch Families! This is Mr. O’Doherty with a couple of announcements for the coming week. First, is that the school will be practicing an evacuation drill down to a local church at 1:00 tomorrow. So if you see the entire school walking through the park, please don’t be alarmed. We should be back to our learning by 1:30. Second, the PTO is hosting dinner on Tuesday night at 6:00 in conjunction with our PTO meeting and volunteer training. Part of this training is looking for dads and grandpas who would like to be a part of our WATCH DOGS program. This is an opportunity for male role models to come be in classrooms, the cafeteria, or on the playground. Please consider joining us that night to learn more about it, and other opportunities to volunteer here at Finch. As a reminder for all PTO meetings, childcare will be provided. Thank you and see you Tuesday night at 6:00.

September 26, 2018

Hello Finch Families! This is Mr. O’Doherty with a couple of reminders for you. First, if you have a chance to come by school this evening, PTO has their Sport’s Night going on from 5-7 pm. This is a free event that is a ton of fun. Mr. Farley will be playing some music, there are a lot of recess type games to play, and we have some food trucks so you can buy dinner or a Kona Ice for a treat. In addition, this Friday is our PJammin/Hat’s On day where students can wear a hat and pajamas to school in honor of September being childhood cancer month. A $1 donation is requested as a fundraiser for the American Childhood Cancer Organization. Finally, Friday is an early release with a 1:45 dismissal. Thank you and I hope to see you out on the playground in a little bit.

September 17, 2018

Hello Finch Families! This is Mr. O’Doherty with a couple of reminders for you. First is that we have two awesome PTO events this week. Tomorrow is our first dine out of the year over at the Shadle Panda Express. Panda is gracious enough to extend this dine out to ALL DAY LONG! That’s right, open to close, but you have to have a flyer which was given to students. If you can’t find the flyer, please visit the Finch PTO Facebook page to download the picture and show it to them. In addition, Wednesday is the first skate night at Pattison’s North from 6:00-8:00. You can go ahead and insert the Mr. O’Doherty broken arm joke here! Lastly, I want to encourage all of you to go to our website and read about Toothsavers coming to visit Finch on Monday. This is a free program for qualified families that helps prevent cavities and promote good oral hygiene. Please see the office for a blue form. Thank you everyone and have a great night!

August 29, 2018

Hello Finch Families! This is Mr. O’Doherty wanting to welcome you back to a new year. The staff had a wonderful time meeting those of you who could make it to Back to School Night on Monday, and we are so excited to get started tomorrow. This is going to be a great year! Again, school starts tomorrow, Thursday, August 30 at 8:30 for grades 1-6. Kindergarten will begin next week on September 5th. Breakfast will be served tomorrow from 8:05-8:25 just like normal. If you are not eating breakfast or once you’re done, please go to the blacktop to wait in line for your teacher and the bell. Parents, teachers will be outside on the blacktop so please don’t bring your student inside because no one will be there. All right everyone, get a great night of sleep and we will see you tomorrow!

June 5, 2018

Finch families…this is Mr. O’Doherty and we are in dire need of volunteers to donate for our blood drive tomorrow. We have many openings from 12:00-5:15 and we are calling for help. Please visit our website and click on the link to sign up to donate tomorrow. If you have difficulties and still want to donate, just show up tomorrow from 12:00-5:15 and we will help get you in. Remember, we need 34 pints in order to receive our gift of $2,000 for our STEM activities. These include field trips, educational assemblies, materials for hands on activities, and other great learning opportunities for our Finch Mustangs. Also, don’t miss our Circus performance tomorrow evening with Mr. Farley and his traveling group at 6:30 pm. They will definitely amaze and bring a smile to your face. Thank you and have a wonderful evening.

May 23, 2018

Hello Finch Families! This is Mr. O’Doherty with a few reminders about upcoming events. Tonight is Pizza with the Principal where I am hanging out eating some pizza and visiting with parents about topics you would like to talk about. I will be sharing updates on our revised Finch Fouls and a new tardy policy we are looking to begin next year, but then it is open mic for you. PTO is providing childcare so come on down from 5:15-6:15 if you can. Also, this Friday is our last Hat’s On day so let’s make it the biggest one yet. I may even wear two! In addition, Fund Run packets are due on Friday so please get those in quickly and thank you for all your efforts to help Finch out. And lastly is a reminder about no school on Monday in observance of Memorial Day. Have a great 3-day weekend and good night!

May 8, 2018

Hello Finch Families! This is Mr. O’Doherty with a quick reminder about cookie dough pick up. It will be tomorrow in the cafeteria between 2:00-4:00. Also, we will be having a bread drop after school on the playground. This means there will be large boxes filled with loaves of different bread free for the taking. So please have a student or yourself go over to pick out a loaf or two to take home. Thank you and have a great rest of your evening.

May 3, 2018

Hello Finch Families! This is Mr. O’Doherty with a few reminders. First is that tonight is the last skate night of the year at Pattison’s from 6:00-8:00. I am so excited, as I am able to go this one. Always a fun time! Next is Coffee with the Principal tomorrow morning at 8:30. This will be the last one of the year, but there will also be a Pizza with the Principal at 5:15 on May 23rd if you can’t make the morning version. Next Tuesday is the final PTO meeting of the year, and we are voting on new board members at this meeting. There is always free dinner and childcare at our PTO meetings, and this month has a special play written and performed by Finch students under the directorial debut of Mr. Rettele. One night only, so don’t miss it! Finally, cookie dough delivery is next Thursday afterschool in the art room. Okay, I am off to skate night now. Hope to see you there!

April 17, 2018

Hello Finch Families! Sorry about another Bright Arrow message so quickly after the last, but I have two quick reminders. First is about a flyer coming home about a survey the district has for families to provide anonymous feedback regarding Finch. Please take a moment to complete it so we have some good data to help focus our energy for next year. Next is our school dance is this Friday. I am very excited about our Enchantment Under the Sea theme and can’t wait to see who wins the best costume and dance competition. Please remember that students must be accompanied by an adult who stays at the dance. In addition, dress code will be enforced. Swimsuit attire, coconut tops, and items too short or revealing are not allowed. Cost is free, but snacks will be sold. I hope to see you on Friday from 6:00-8:00 with a parent for a rocking good time!

April 10, 2018

Hello Finch Families! This is Mr. O’Doherty with a few reminders from Finch. Tonight is our PTO meeting at 6:00 in the cafeteria. As always, free dinner and childcare are provided. I hope that you can swing by to join us, and we are usually done by 7:00. Tomorrow is the end of our ASB cookie dough sale. Please send in all orders as soon as you can. We also held a spring assembly today to remind students about working hard in school to learn all you can, and the guest did some fun yo-yo tricks to inspire the kids. A flyer should have made it home where students can purchase a yo-yo for as little as $8. We have designated spot at recess until the end of the month for the students to play with yo-yos. Finally, two reminders about Friday - one is Coffee with the Principal at 8:30 in the cafeteria, and it is an early release day with a 1:45 dismissal time. Thanks and have a great night.

March 15, 2018

Hello Finch Families! This is Mr. O’Doherty with some reminders. Tomorrow is early release with a 1:45 dismissal. Also at dismissal time, we will have the 2nd Harvest Food bank on site with 500 packages of bread to pass out, which they call a “bread drop”. So please stop by their truck and take a package home. Don’t forget on Monday, between 3:30-5:30, are the principal interviews for Finch. Parents are encouraged to come to the cafeteria to visit with the candidates and provide feedback to the district on which candidate they feel is best for Finch. And finally, spring conferences are around the corner. If you have not signed up yet to meet with your child’s teacher, please contact them for a time. It will be a 1:00 early dismissal all week, and there will also be a book fair in the library Monday through Thursday that week.

February 26, 2018

Hello Finch Families! This is Mr. O’Doherty with quick message. This beautiful sunshine is bringing out the best in us as we soak in that vitamin D and keep working hard entering March. However, it also brings a lot of puddles that make learning miserable when a student slips and falls in them and has to sit wet in class. So we are asking that you please send a change of clothes to keep in their locker in case this happens. Also, don’t forget we have Coffee with the Principals this Friday morning at 8:30 in the cafeteria, plus it is an early release day again on Friday with a 1:45 dismissal. Have a great week!

February 20, 2018

Hello Finch Families! This is Mr. O’Doherty with some reminders about all of the action going on at Finch tomorrow. First, thank you to everyone who signed up to donate blood tomorrow at our blood drive. We had many parents send in forms willing to donate, but our spots filled up so quickly, we didn’t have enough room for everyone. If we were able to schedule you, you should receive an email or a phone call reminder. You can also get on the myinbc website to check. Everyone else who we were not able to schedule, we will reach out to you in May for round 2. Also tomorrow is our Family Literacy Night in coordination with the PTO book exchange and AVID showcase. It all starts at 5:30 with K-2 grade level activities and the 3-6 book exchange. Then at 5:50, we will do a flip flop for 3-6 grade level activities and the K-2 book exchange. We will end the evening with a dinner, while both book exchanges are open in case you missed it. And lastly, tomorrow kicks off our Books for Bikes contest. All students in attendance at the Family Literacy Night will receive a raffle ticket for the bike drawing on March 23rd. Look for the Books for Bike flyer headed home soon to find out how you can earn even more raffle tickets. Thank you everyone and have a great evening.

February 1, 2018

Hello Finch Families! This is Mr. O’Doherty with a couple of items to share about the month of February. First is an invitation to Coffee with the Principal this Friday at 8:30 in the cafeteria. I have invited our counselor Mrs. Lenhartzen to join me as we discuss ways to help students get along and what exactly is “bullying”. And just a reminder that it Friday is an early release with school out at 1:45. Also, mark your calendars for February 21st because we have two events that day. One is the Inland Northwest Blood Center will be here with the mobile blood bank for donations. Finch is hoping to get at least 30 donations that day as we work to fundraiser $2,000 for student enrichment activities. You should see some information coming home this week, or you can check out our website for a link to sign up for a time between 12:00 and 5:15 pm. Then that evening, Finch is hosting a Family Literacy night with grade level reading activities, the PTO book exchange, and a free scratch cooked dinner from our awesome kitchen staff. It starts at 5:30 with dinner served at 6:20. It is also the kick off for Books for Bikes and all students in attendance will receive one coupon for the drawing in March. I hope to see you all there!

December 14, 2017

Hello Finch Families! This is Mr. O’Doherty with three quick announcements. First is about our Wild West book fair going on in the library. Tomorrow is the last day to make purchases. It will be open after school until 5:00 and then it rides off into the sunset. Hee Haw! Second is that tomorrow is also the last day for the ASB food drive. The top donation class will earn a celebration next week, so please consider donating, and thank you to all of you who have already done so. Lastly, next week is conference week, so if you haven’t scheduled an appointment yet with your child’s teacher, there is still time. Don’t forget that school is out every day next week at 1:00 for conferences. Thank you, and have a great night.

November 30, 2017

Hello Finch families! This is Mr. O’Doherty with two reminders. Tomorrow is Friday, December 1st and it's an early release day with dismissal at 1:45. In case you were unaware, teachers stay here at school during these days and collaborate at grade levels around the curriculum and assessments to plan lessons to help your student grow. Also, it is the first Friday of the month, which means it is time for Coffee with the Principal at 8:30 in the cafeteria. Our topic is winter weather and Mr. Troy is going to join us to share about how we work to keep things safe around here during those snowy and icy days. I hope you can stop in after dropping the students off for some hot coffee and friendly chatter. Thank you and have a great evening.

November 9, 2017

Hello Finch families! This is Mr. O’Doherty with two reminders and one request. First is a reminder about no school tomorrow in observance of Veteran’s Day. I hope you enjoy the 3-day weekend! Second is a reminder about the PTO meeting on Tuesday and Turkey Bingo next Friday. I hear Turkey Bingo is a really fun time, and did you know that 100% of the proceeds stays here at Finch to support our Families in Need projects. This brings me to my one request – please support our Turkey Bingo gift basket raffle by donating items early next week. The classroom with the most items donated will earn raffle tickets to use the night of the event. So come on out to have some Finch family fun for a fabulous cause.